I have been vegetarian for the past four years, recently turned vegan. Before I turned vegetarian, I was slim and very happy. When I turned vegetarian, I put on weight and felt tired a lot. I came to grips with my poor diet and changed it slightly so I wasn't feeling tired although I was still kind of chubby. In retrospect, this probably wasn't because I was vegetarian but was because I moved out for University, drank a lot of beer and ate a lot of pizza.

In the past year, I've dramatically improved my diet and really paid attention to nutrient intake more than calorie intake. I still hold that whilst I ate poorly and was chubby, I was actually getting less calories than I should have been but it was probably because I was largely consuming carbs over anything. Anyway...

I've been vegan for the past few months and in all honesty, I've found it to be horrible. I don't know what has happened to me but I just feel like I'm dying and I cant attribute it to anything other than my diet as I started feeling this way after I changed. I lost quite a bit of weight, although I'm still not that thin. I eat a lot of organic vegetables and tofu, nuts, seeds etc with whole grains and such and never eat any ready made meals or anything. I find that I'm constantly hungry, weak and depressed. My nails have turned white. I have no idea why I feel like this. I take multivitamins and cycle from 5 to 10 miles every day. I'm around 5'8"-5'9" and around 126 pounds, which seems to vary weekly by +-2 pounds. I'm very conscious of my weight and feel fat all the time.

Is the vegan/vegetarian diet truly 'not for everyone'? I do not eat meat purely because I think that it is a horrible act but I don't know how long I can go on feeling like this. I can remember how good I used to feel when I ate meat and envy everyone around me who can eat shit like McDonalds etc and feel ten times better than me. What am I doing wrong?

If anyone could help me out, that would be amazing. I really don't want to eat meat again.

Last edited by cmao on Mon May 13, 2013 4:49 am, edited 1 time in total.

Welcome to the forum. Wow this might be the first time I have heard such a heartache with a vegan diet. Although the feeling hungry all the time I have heard numerous times but its usually due to a combination of eating a poor diet and not enough food, coupled with your body adjusting to not getting all of the fats and cholesterol that it is used to be feel satiated. The nails and the lack of energy are totally opposite of what I hear from people on a daily basis so I don't know. It sounds like you are eating a good diet. You may want to visit a physician it sounds like your health is really deteriorating. Maybe there is another underlying problem besides your diet? The downside is that there is a good chance the physician will tell you start eating meat so go into the consultation with an open mind that maybe you can learn about what may be causing your health issues without getting into a debate with them about whether or not meat is the answer.

What kind of foods are you eating?? I felt a bit shitty at first but mainly because I was eating nothing but mock meats and junk, plus it does get a bit of getting used to starting a new diet.Anyways welcome aboard, I'm half scottish.. Where abouts are you from in scotland?

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As you indicate that your food habits were poor as a vegetarian, you may want to consider the possibility that your symptoms are related to a vitamin deficiency.. iron, b12, zinc?? You would need to get a blood test to confirm whether that is the case and if so, whether there is more than one deficiency.

A multi does not have the amount of b12 that is required by a vegan.. so hopefully you are supplementing with the higher dose (ie. about 1200mcg/week). Many vegetarians have limited stores of b12 (unlike ominvores), so switching to vegan and failing to take a b12 supplement can quickly deplete any stores.

Do not supplement iron if you are not deficient .. there are serious health repercussions if you overdose. So make sure you check with a doctor before supplementing. Foods high in iron are soy, beans, and green leafy vegetables. But to ensure absorption of iron, you need have some vitamin C at the same time. Also coffee and tea inhibit absorption.. so if you drink them, I'd limit it to the a.m.

You need vitamin D in order to absorb zinc... Scotland is pretty dreary in the winter (like Vancouver!), so I highly recommend a D supplement. I also take a zinc supplement now and then as recommended by Jack Norris.

If it's important to you, you'll find a way. If it isn't, you'll find an excuse.

Thanks for all the help people.The thing is, I'm eating quite well in my opinion - no mock meats as I'm currently studying abroad and I can't get them here, although I do eat tofu and tempeh for protein. For example, breakfast, I'll have musli and a banana with rice milk or soy milk - lunch, maybe something like a wrap with spinach, kidney beans, peppers, onions, maybe some tofu and a side salad of leafy greens - dinner, usually something like every vegetable I really have in the fridge with lentils, beans and brown rice or cous cous. I eat a lot of fruit and nuts every day. I wish I could go to a physician but it's hard enough to make a doctors appointment here and I can hardly afford to go see the doctor. I'll hopefully be going sometime this week or early next week so I'll update then with what they say.

For anyone who was wondering...I eventually managed to go and see a doctor. I have been under-eating a lot and been under a lot of stress recently - I couldn't accept that I had been under eating and overworking myself. I certainly was not eating as much as I was saying, generally skipping most meals and having very small portions when I did eat. I'm still having trouble trying to eat and such without wanting to make myself sick or something but I am getting there. I'm pleased to say that I'm already feeling a lot better, both mentally and physically. My levels were surprisingly good despite my under-eating. I am managing to eat three square meals a day and am trying not to count calories to the extent that I was before. The change of colour in my nails has already reverted. I'm currently starting the C25K program. I'm sorry if I have misrepresented the vegan diet in some way - the way I was feeling was in no way related to that. Sorry to anyone who took their time to reply.